Statesville, NC – After Hurricane Florence devastated highways, homes, businesses, and farming operations in North and South Carolina this September, multiple Farm Credit Association employees volunteered to assist with disaster recovery in impacted communities.
Fulfilling the Farm Credit mission of being there for agricultural and rural communities through good and bad times, Farm Credit team members participated in at least one of the nine “Farm Credit Cares” volunteer days in November. Approximately 205 Farm Credit employees across six states spent more than 1,700 volunteer hours in eastern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina assisting impacted families get back into their homes.
Led by the Farm Credit Associations that serve customers in the disaster areas, additional Farm Credit volunteers amplified the recovery activities. Volunteers represented AgCarolina Farm Credit, AgChoice Farm Credit, AgFirst Farm Credit Bank, ArborOne Farm Credit, Cape Fear Farm Credit, Carolina Farm Credit, Central Kentucky Ag Credit, Farm Credit Council, and Yankee Farm Credit.
In addition to the volunteer hours, the Farm Credit Associations of North Carolina and Farm Credit partner CoBank, donated $200,000 to the NC Baptist on Mission. Of that donation, $150,000 is for Hurricane Florence relief efforts in North Carolina and $50,000 is for Hurricane Michael relief efforts in Georgia and Florida. Additionally Arbor One Farm Credit, along with Farm Credit partner CoBank, donated $100,000 to South Carolina’s Baptist Convention, also for disaster relief efforts.
About Farm Credit
Farm Credit supports rural communities and agriculture with reliable, consistent credit and financial services, today and tomorrow. As customer-owned cooperatives, each of the 73 independent institutions is governed by a board of directors chosen by the customers it supports. This ensures a customer-first approach that helps U.S. agricultural producers feed the world, strengthens the rural economy, and provides jobs that help rural families thrive.
The Farm Credit system has over $259 billion in loans and commitments outstanding to over 500,000 customers nationwide. The system provides loans and related financial services that support farmers and ranchers, farmer-owned cooperatives and other agribusinesses, rural homebuyers and companies exporting U.S. ag products around the globe.
For more than 100 years, Farm Credit has fulfilled its mission–through good times and bad. We remain committed to that mission and evolving to meet the needs of our customers for the next 100 years.